MASG chapter 20

 

Mo An finally opened his eyes. It was too bright, and his surroundings were still too bright.

There were four prey. He could see their chests were flat because they were holding their breath. However, his own chest was rising and falling, indicating that his lungs were still functioning.

They had scales on their necks, but Mo An had gill slits. This was the difference between genetically modified and naturally occurring monsters—an unbridgeable gap. Mo An couldn’t calculate the pool’s depth. He was unfamiliar with anything human, but instinct made him feel more comfortable the closer he got to the bottom.

His tail could finally be fully extended—a sensation he had never experienced in the fish egg. Mo An tried to move it, and the muscles of a true fish allowed the mermaid to reach a speed that the others could never match.

A speed they could never match.

The water passed over Mo An’s skin, and he felt only comfort; there was no resistance at all. His streamlined tail helped him move through the water easily, allowing him to swim dozens of meters with just one swing. His arms could also be extended. Previously, they had been folded across his chest inside the fish egg. Now, the scales on his elbows gleamed as light filtered through them.

So this is what it felt like to leave the protective fish eggs behind… Mo An was immersed in the novelty of the experience and the joy of the hunt.

The originally fierce fishmen began to retreat—after all, they were still human at their core—but the one before them was a fish. It was a natural suppression of the food chain, survival of the fittest, the law of the wild, etched deeply into their instincts.

Unarmed, they couldn’t defeat him, even in numbers.

However, humans are the most intelligent because of their use of weapons.

No matter how well the fish brat could camouflage himself, he couldn’t escape the power of a gun. Mutants could be killed, too. Besides mermaids, there were plenty of other mutant species. At the same time, all their muzzles were aimed at the target.

If we can’t capture them alive, we’ll kill them. We can’t leave such a huge hidden danger!

All the guns fired bullets simultaneously. The bullets were so fast that they formed a bubble of compressed air underwater. The recoil pushed everyone back half a meter. The hunting-specific blooming bullets propelled forward like four iron nails along a direct trajectory into the heart of the mermaid child.

Mo An hadn’t yet mastered his body, yet no movement underwater escaped him. He dodged almost the moment the cavity bubble formed.

Compared to dodging a natural enemy, this thing seemed less threatening.

The man watched the mermaid dodge expertly. Although he had just been born, he knew how to survive. Was this the difference between living organisms? Human babies are born clueless yet incredibly agile. Suddenly, a flash of silver appeared before his eyes. When he saw that beautiful color again, a tail fin like a cicada wing brushed past him.

He looked down again and saw a pool of bright red blood gradually spreading. This couldn’t be mermaid blood—it was human blood.

Turns out, mermaid scales are as sharp as razor blades, capable of slicing through bone.

At this point, Xia Yu and Mi Dou were utterly frantic. Mi Dou’s forehead was covered in sweat, and Xia Yu was practically crying. Their sticks seemed useless because the men in the water wouldn’t come up for air. They didn’t dare go down because they couldn’t guess what was happening.

All they could see was the water moving, and it was getting more intense. Xia Yu knew immediately that something serious was happening. Mo An was still young and was about to be hunted down; his life hung in the balance. What would they do if they couldn’t defeat those men?

Jingwei wasn’t there either. If only it were.

The water in the pool swayed constantly, as if someone were stirring it to keep it from settling. The once clear water gradually turned bright red, a color that seemed to never fade. Xia Yu and Mi Dou could smell something different. At first, the pool smelled only of metal, but now it smelled bloody.

“Mo An? Where’s Mo An?” Xia Yu’s legs gave way and he sat down by the pool. He was just a newly hatched fish. How could he possibly take on several adults? Besides, he hadn’t eaten in a long time. He must have been starving and had no strength left.

Mi Dou’s legs went weak. This was the first time he had seen so much blood. The fear of wounds is a human instinct—anyone would be terrified by the sight of so much blood. But despite his fear, Mi Dou still held onto Xia Yu’s arm.

“What are you doing?” Mi Dou refused to let go.

“I’m going to save him!” Xia Yu cried, his voice filled with tears, wanting nothing more than to quickly snatch Mo An from the men’s grasp. However, the more frantic Xia Yu became, the more Mi Dou hesitated to let go. Wouldn’t that be suicide?

“Please let me go! Let me go! I must save him. I promised Professor Wang Qin. Please let me go!” Xia Yu’s pleas turned into tears as a series of terrifying images flashed through his mind. Could Mo An have already been devoured by them? He had carefully nurtured Mo An until now, he couldn’t just watch him disappear into thin air.

As soon as he finished speaking, the waves on the crimson water suddenly stopped.

The movement came and went suddenly, like a pot of boiling water cooling suddenly, leaving no one able to predict the horrific outcome. Seizing Mi Dou’s moment of distraction, Xia Yu freed his arm. He quickly ran to the edge of the pool and raised his iron rod high.

As soon as the fishmen surfaced, he would deliver a fatal blow!

The calm water rippled again. Xia Yu couldn’t see through the crimson water, but he knew, instinctively, that someone was about to reach the shore. He clenched his wrist, concentrated, and held his breath. This was their only chance to strike back. Finally, the surface of the water broke as if something were pushing upward. Xia Yu swung the stick with all his might.

The little mermaid he had seen countless times through the egg emerged from the water.

The stick rested on Mo An’s head. His eyes were filled with confusion, his cheeks were puffed out, and he was chewing on something. It was the first time the two had met, but neither recognized the other immediately. They had always had a vague idea of each other’s appearances, so the sudden clarity was rather awkward.

His silver hair, completely dampened, fell back, revealing his face and ears. Xia Yu and Mi Dou’s eyes widened. This was a strange creature, completely different in appearance from humans.

Although he hadn’t grown up yet and his features were still undeveloped, it was easy to tell that Mo An would grow up to be very handsome. Xia Yu was practically transfixed, his attention fixed on his eyes. They were the black eyes of his dreams, shrouded in a layer of water and seemingly glittering.

They were innocent eyes, but Xia Yu could also see what Mo An was eating: a piece of intestine. A pale blue liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth, revealing his unusually sharp teeth.

His teeth were surprisingly pointy! Xia Yu looked at Mo An’s ears again, unsure if he would recognize his voice. His ears clearly hadn’t fully developed…

Though he had never seen a fully grown mermaid before, Xia Yu could tell that the ear fins hadn’t opened completely. Like the tips of butterfly wings, they were curled up and pressed limply against his head. The base of each fin grew directly onto the ear bone and was clearly connected to it, forming part of his outer ear.

“Enno, xla.” Mo An finished his last bite and spoke for the first time since hatching. He looked at Xia Yu. The little jellyfish looked neither human nor fish. Its eyes were distinct. He stretched out his calls, a common practice among merpeople, to call out to his fellow merpeople, but received no response.

“Enno, enno…” His voice grew longer, filled with grievance and helplessness. Mo An bobbed in the water, clumsily swaying his tail as he struggled to maintain his balance. What was wrong with the little jellyfish? Why didn’t he come closer?

Among the mermaid, hatchlings that hatched around the same time were all considered siblings. They hugged, kissed each other’s necks, and clung to each other’s tails.

Mo An continued to call out to Xia Yu. The mermaid’s ethereal voice echoed through the empty factory like a distant chant. Those few simple syllables resonated again, evoking boundless reverie as if glimpsing the abyss.

“Mo An…” Xia Yu awoke from his reverie. He had been hypnotized and forgotten where he was. Suddenly, his grip on the stick slipped, and it fell with a thud, hitting Mo An on the head.

Mo An was still calling out, but the sudden blow caught him off guard. Not only was the little jellyfish refusing to approach him, it was also hitting him on the head.

“Ahhh…” Xia Yu’s words became incoherent; they were meaningless at that moment. He was facing a mermaid—a life hatched from a fish egg. So what would happen next? What next?

Mi Dou also snapped awake but was equally helpless.

Then, Mo An, who had been bobbing in front of them, suddenly turned sideways and floated on his belly. His tail, adorned with a beautiful caudal fin, emerged completely from the water. His silver scales echoed the silver-blue of Xia Yu’s eyes.

“It’s over!” Xia Yu yelled immediately. “I’ve knocked Mo An silly! He’s so stupid, he can’t even swim!”

It certainly seemed so. Mermaids are deep-sea creatures who navigate the water as effortlessly as humans do on land. But the chubby little mermaid in front of him was in a completely different state. Not only was he swimming on his belly and unable to straighten up, but he also…couldn’t swim in a straight line.

He could be seen waving his tail vigorously, trying to adjust his direction. Each attempt failed, and he could only swim in an arc.

“He’s injured, so he can’t turn over or swim straight,” said Mi Dou, much calmer than Xia Yu. “Look! The tip of his tail is different!”

Tip of the tail? What’s wrong with it? It was only after Mi Dou’s reminder that Xia Yu noticed Mo An’s tail fin and was shocked. The two sides were different lengths, and the middle was obviously torn and still bleeding.

Wait, mermaid blood is light blue… That means the red blood wasn’t Mo An’s! Without hesitation, Xia Yu jumped into the pool. Despite the nauseating smell of blood, he resolutely swam toward the reeling Mo An and finally grabbed his wrist.

So cool! Holding the icy Mo An, Xia Yu swam toward the shore. Mo An paused his struggle and stared at Xia Yu unblinkingly.

Mi Dou met them on the shore while Xia Yu climbed out first. Together, they pulled Mo An out of the water, both panting. Out of the water, Mo An felt heavy. He preferred being underwater. His tail slapped against the ground, making loud, wet sounds. Then, he stretched out his arms—still without grown elbow fins—and smiled at Xia Yu.

“Treasure.” Mo An showed a mouthful of sharp little teeth.